Forest
biological diversity: implementation of the programme of work

A. Consideration of matters arising from the implementation of paragraph
19 of decision VI/22

The Conference of the Parties,

Recalling paragraph 19 of decision VI/22 of the Conference of the
Parties in which the Executive Secretary was requested to initiate a series
of actions in support of the implementation of the expanded programme of work
on forest biodiversity,

Mindful that many fora and organizations, including the United Nations
Forum on Forests (UNFF), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations (FAO), the World Bank and other members of the Collaborative Partnership
on Forests, as well as regional forest-related processes have information on
sustainable forest management and national forest programmes, including on
forest law enforcement and related trade and cross-sectoral integration,

1. Welcomes the note prepared by the Executive Secretary on matters
arising from the implementation of paragraph 19 of decision VI/22 (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/11/14)
and the report on the effects of insufficient law enforcement on forest biological
diversity (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/11/INF/12), and the compilation of best practices
to reduce negative impacts and enhance positive impacts of other sectoral policies
on forest biological diversity (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/11/INF/13);

2. Expresses its appreciation to those Parties, other Governments,
non-governmental organizations, members of the Collaborative Partnership on
Forests, regional forest-related processes, other United Nations bodies and
conventions, intergovernmental organizations, and research institutes for their
various inputs and collaborative efforts in the implementation of the different
actions outlined in subparagraphs 19 (a)-(g) of decision VI/22;

3. Invites Parties to strengthen their efforts to promote sustainable
forest management, to improve forest law enforcement and to address related
trade, and reiterates its invitation to Parties to provide information
on these subjects according to paragraph 19(e) of decision VI/22, particularly
on their effects on forest biological diversity as a contribution to the review
of the expanded programme of work on forest biological diversity, in the context
of the activities delineated under its objective 4, goal 1, of programme element
2;

4. Requests the Executive Secretary to:

(a) Strengthen collaboration on issues regarding the promotion of sustainable
forest management, including, as appropriate, forest law enforcement, governance
and related trade, with the UNFF, the International Tropical Timber Organization
(ITTO), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO),
the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), the World Bank, other
members of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests, and regional forest-related
processes in order to complement and contribute to ongoing processes and initiatives, 1 /
as appropriate, with a view to improving the implementation of relevant activities
of the expanded programme of work on forest biological diversity;

(b) Synthesize, in collaboration with relevant members of the Collaborative
Partnership on Forests, existing information on the way Parties are promoting
the implementation of their national forest programmes and national biodiversity
strategies and action plans;

(c) Develop in collaboration with stakeholders and taking into account the
work of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the United
Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF), relevant members of the Collaborative Partnership
on Forests, relevant regional forest-related processes such as the Ministerial
Conference on the Protection of Forests in Europe (MCPFE), the Montreal Process,
and COMIFAC (Commission des Forêts d’Afrique Centrale), a toolkit on
cross-sectoral, integrated approaches making best use of already existing instruments,
notably national forest programmes, to reduce negative impacts and enhance
positive impacts of other sectoral policies on forest biological diversity,
for consideration of SBSTTA at its thirteenth meeting, and to disseminate it
through electronic and non-electronic means;

(d) Suspend the operation of the forest web portal of the Convention on Biological
Diversity because of its low rate of use, and re-direct Parties, via a hyperlink
to the Collaborative Partnership on Forests’ Joint Information Framework web
site, hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; 2 /

(e) Complete the assessment on unauthorized harvesting on fauna (including
bushmeat) as proposed in document UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/11/INF/12 and finalize the
compilation of best practices outlined in document UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/11/INF/13;

(f) Compile the lessons learned from paragraph 19 of decision VI/22, in particular
those under subparagraph (f) on sustainable use;

(g) Explore further means to strengthen the exchange of information and capacity‑building
related to the implementation of the expanded programme of work on forest biological
diversity through non-web based means, such as CD-Rom and hard copies and to
enhance sharing of practical and useful web-based forest information;

5. Recalling paragraph 28 of decision VI/22 and paragraphs 7 and 11 (b)
of decision VII/11, encourages Parties to continue to integrate the
ecosystem approach and sustainable forest management into policies and practices
and to further strengthen the institutional and human capacity for implementing
adaptive management;

6. Invites the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
to incorporate the forest-related information of the Convention on Biological
Diversity more comprehensively into the web portal of the Collaborative Partnership
on Forests;

7. Urges Parties and other Governments to strengthen collaboration
at the national level between the focal point for the World Heritage Convention,
the Convention on Biological Diversity, and United Nations Educational Scientific
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) focal points respectively, in order to increase
the effectiveness of implementation of the expanded programme of work on forest
biological diversity, and the programme of work on protected areas, in designated
World Heritage sites, taking into account the relevance of the programme of
work on protected areas for the implementation of programme element 1, goal
3, objective 3 of the expanded programme of work on forest biological diversity;

B. Other matters

The Conference of the Parties,

Noting the outcomes derived from the sixth session of the United
Nations Forum on Forests as a positive step towards achieving sustainable forest
management,

Welcoming in particular, the four shared Global Objectives on Forests
agreed at the sixth session of the United Nations Forum on Forests, where Parties
committed to work globally and nationally and to make progress toward their
achievement by 2015, and noting that the implementation of the expanded programme
of work on forest biological diversity will contribute toward the achievement
of these four global objectives,

Recognizing the uncertainties related to the potential environmental
and socio-economic impacts, including long-term and transboundary impacts,
of genetically modified trees on global forest biological diversity, as well
as on the livelihoods of indigenous and local communities, and given the absence
of reliable data and of capacity in some countries to undertake risk assessments
and to evaluate those potential impacts,

1. Instructs the Executive Secretary to continue his engagement in
the Collaborative Partnership on Forests;

2. Recommends Parties to take a precautionary approach when addressing
the issue of genetically modified trees;

3. Requests the Executive Secretary to collect and collate existing
information, including peer-reviewed published literature, in order to allow
SBSTTA to consider and assess the potential environmental, cultural, and socio-economic
impacts of genetically modified trees on the conservation and sustainable use
of forest biological diversity, and to report to the ninth meeting of the Conference
of the Parties;

4. Invites Parties, other Governments and relevant organizations,
including indigenous and local communities, as well as relevant stakeholders,
to provide relevant views and information to the Secretariat for inclusion
in this assessment;

C. Review of implementation of the expanded programme of work on forest biological
diversity

The Conference of the Parties

1. Requests the Executive Secretary to carry out an in‑depth review of the
expanded programme of work following the proposed review process as delineated
in the annex to the present decision, and, subject to availability of financial
resources, to convene at least one meeting of the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group
(AHTEG) on Review of Implementation of the Programme of Work on Forest Biological
Diversity established by the Conference of the Parties under the terms of reference
agreed in paragraph 26 of decision VI/22 in order to complete its original
mandate;

2. Requests the Executive Secretary in accordance to paragraph 26 (c) of
decision VI/22, concerning membership of the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group,
to increase representation for bio-geographical regions with little or no current
representation;

3. Encourages Parties and other relevant stakeholders to access existing
information on forest related reporting when finalizing the third and preparing
the fourth national report, for example, through the Joint Information Framework
for Forest-Related Reporting website of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests
and other non-web-based means;

4. Encourages the Task Force on Streamlining Forest-related Reporting of
the Collaborative Partnership on Forests to continue its work towards reducing
reporting burden and minimizing duplication of reporting requests.

Annex

PROPOSAL ON THE REVIEW OF IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EXPANDED PROGRAMME
OF WORK ON FOREST BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY

A. Sources of information

1. Relevant sources of information that will contribute to the review of
implementation of the expanded programme of work on forest biological diversity
are listed as follows:

(a) The primary source information is to be extracted from the third national
report submitted by Parties to the Convention in 2005; 3 /

(b) Other forest-related information in the form of national reports previously
submitted to the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations, the International Tropical Timber Agreement
(but only for countries members of the International Tropical Timber Organization
(ITTO)), the United Nations Forum on Forests (UNFF), the United Nations Convention
to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), and the United Nations Framework on Convention
on Climate Change (UNFCCC), that can be accessed at the Collaborative Partnership
on Forest’s Joint Information Framework for Forest-Related Reporting web
site and regional criteria and indicators processes; 4 /

(c) Information contained in voluntary thematic reports produced, in the
framework of the Convention, on forest biological diversity (thematic report
on forest ecosystems submitted in 2001, 5 /
voluntary report on progress of implementation of the expanded programme
of work in 2003. 6 /);

(d) “Country profiles” produced by the Commission for Sustainable Development
as well as national reports;

(e) Relevant information on progress made in National Biodiversity Strategies
and Action Plans and National Forest Programmes;

(f) Questionnaires to international organizations to gauge implementation
at the international level; 7 /

(g) Review of implementation by non-governmental organizations dealing with
indigenous and local communities (e.g., Global Forest Coalition review of
the forest-related clauses in the Convention; 8 /
Forest People’s Programme on indigenous people’s experiences of biodiversity
conservation activities funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF); 9 /
reports to the United Nations Forum on Forests; 10 /
summary Report of the Expert Meeting on Traditional Forest-Related Knowledge
and the Implementation of Related International Commitments 11 /
);

(h) Peer–reviewed, independent reports carried out by international non-governmental
organizations and scientific bodies; and

(i) International/global/regional forest assessments, including the FAO Forest
Resources Assessment and Yearbook of Forest Products, the FAO
State of the World’s Forests reports, the FAO regional outlook studies,
the FAO national forest programme updates, the ITTO annual review and assessment
of the world timber situation, 12 /
the ITTO upcoming review on the status of sustainable forest management,
review by the United Nations Forum on Forests of progress made on the proposals
for action put forward by the Intergovernmental Panel on Forests (IPF)/Intergovernmental
Forum on Forests (IFF), 13 /
assessment reports under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC)/Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the Millennium
Ecosystem Assessment, the second Global Biodiversity Outlook, and the reports
of the Ministerial Conference for the Protection of Forests in Europe (MCPFE)
on the state of Europe’s forests and sustainable forest management in Europe.

B. Technical components of the review

2. The review of implementation of the expanded programme of work on forest
biological diversity shall carry out, whenever feasible and relevant, the
following activities as they relate to the section on forest biodiversity
within the third national report to the Convention, and other relevant sources
as mentioned in paragraph 5 of the note by the Executive Secretary on advice
on the review of the expanded programme of work on forest biological diversity
(UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/11/15), taking into account annex III to recommendation
1/8 of the Working Group on Review of Implementation of the Convention;

3. A background report will be prepared by the Executive Secretary in collaboration
with the AHTEG on the Review of Implementation of the Programme of Work on
Forest Biological Diversity on status and trends in forest biological diversity
and on the review of the implementation of the expanded programme of work
on forest biodiversity. The report will cover:

(a) Analysis and presentation of the information in a regional context, including
maps;

(b) Analysis and synthesis of the information submitted in written form in
the third national report (as opposed to only reporting frequency of compliance
for a given question), including information arising from the implementation
of activities contained in paragraph 19 of decision VI/22;

(c) Assessment of the adequacy of the expanded programme of work on forest
biological diversity in addressing national priorities, including those related
to rehabilitation and long-term restoration of forest cover;

(d) Identification of information gaps by clustering those questions with
poor responses;

(e) Consideration of options for analysing, synthesizing, presenting, and
publishing the information submitted, including through the clearing‑house
mechanism, in order to provide feedback to Parties and enhance the value and
ownership of the reported information;

(f) Analysis of the information by identifying, developing, and/or elaborating
on (but not limited to):

(i) Major global and regional benefits and problems in implementing the
programme of work;

(ii) Most implemented goals and/or objectives;

(iii) Least implemented goals and/or objectives;

(iv) Not implemented goals and/or objectives;

(v) Conclusions on a regional basis;

(vi) Conclusions on a global basis;

(vii) Suggestions for improvement to the forest work programme and ways
forward;

(viii) Lessons learned and best practices;

(ix) Identification of barriers to implementation in the context of priorities
for capacity-building;

(g) An overall assessment on:

(i) If and how the forest work programme has been a helpful tool in reducing
the loss of forest biodiversity;

(ii) How the forest work programme has been helpful in addressing the three
objectives of the Convention;

Future priorities, opportunities, and challenges for the further implementation
of the forest work programme;

4. There are a number of technical limitations to the review of the information
contained in the forest biodiversity section of the third national report.
These limitations need to be noted in the introduction to the review and
taken into account when conducting this review. Some specific examples
of limitations to the information include:

(a) The inability to assess status and trends directly, because most of the
questions were not designed for this purpose;

(b) Different interpretations and hence different answers to questions;

(c) Often the absence of baseline data.

5. Assessment and identification of successes, challenges, and obstacles
to implementation, as well as on the effects of the types of scientific and
technical measures taken and tools used in implementing the expanded programme
of work on forest biological diversity will be drawn from the third national
reports and other sources of relevant information as appropriate.

6. Taking into account limitations identified in paragraph 4 above the review
will address status and trends in forest biological diversity, the effectiveness
and the constraints of the expanded programme of work on forest biological
diversity and matters requiring further consideration arising from paragraph
19 of decision VI/22. The review will provide recommendations on subject
matters associated with the work programme and possible ways and means to
develop, design and/or refine the future programme of work on forest biological
diversity.

1 / Tarapoto Process in the
context of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty; Forest Law Enforcement and Governance
(FLEG) Ministerial Processes in South East Asia and Pacific, Africa, and Europe
and North Asia; and the Forest Law Enforcement and Governance and Trade (FLEGT)
Action Plan of the European Union; and other relevant processes and initiatives.

3 / At its first meeting, in
2003, the Group developed a refined questionnaire on forest biological diversity
within the format of the third national report, structured around the 12 goals
and 27 objectives of the expanded forest work programme, and later adopted
by the Conference of the Parties in its decision VII/25.

7 / To this end, the Group
developed, in its first meeting in 2003, a questionnaire directed at International
organizations, including all members of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests.
The questionnaire format was adopted at the seventh meeting of the Conference
of the Parties and sent in 2004.

8 / See “Status of implementation
of Forest-related Clauses in the CBD”. March 2002. FERN-Global Forest Coalition.

10 / Fifth session of the
United Nations Forum on Forests. report on traditional forest related knowledge
and the implementation of related international commitments: International
Alliance of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples of the Tropical Forests, 6-10 December
2004, San Jose, Costa Rica (E/CN.18/2005/16)

11 / Costa Rica, 2004; International
Alliance of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples of the Tropical Forests